


A Walk in the Mind

by DragonSaphiraReads



Series: The Selfish Protector [4]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Sympathetic Deceit, logince kinda, not intentional but could be read romantic if you want
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-07
Updated: 2019-04-07
Packaged: 2020-01-06 02:41:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,504
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18379274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DragonSaphiraReads/pseuds/DragonSaphiraReads
Summary: Thomas wants to understand Deceit's role in his personality. Logan and Roman have taken it upon themselves to figure it out for him.





	A Walk in the Mind

**Author's Note:**

> A/N - You can now listen to this oneshot as an audio recording, read by me! https://youtu.be/4BY4ED_mMS4

Deceit didn’t believe his ears at first. He never had visitors - the other “dark sides” as Roman classified them kept to themselves, and the others didn’t like him. He chalked it up to just an auditory hallucination, laying back down with his hands behind his head, staring up at his starry sky. 

There was another knock.

Deceit sat up. Either he was going crazy or there really was someone at his door. Did one of the others need something? He grabbed his hat from the nightstand and threw it on before opening the door and narrowing his eyes. 

“Logan? Roman? To... what do I owe the pleasure?” He tried to throw on his mask, but he didn’t quite get there fast enough. His surprise leaked through, but the other two either didn’t catch it or didn’t care. 

“Pardon our intrusion, but I was wondering if we could speak with you for a while.” Logan announced, holding his shoulders straight and tall. Behind him, Roman was doing his best to hold a neutral expression, but his eyes kept flickering to behind Deceit. 

“I have better things to do than talk with you two.” Deceit lied, attempting to slam the door in their face. Logan’s foot shot forward, and he winced slightly as it slammed directly into it. 

“Falsehood. If you don’t want to speak with us, that’s fine, but I need you to tell me that directly.”

Logan’s eyes were determined, and Deceit’s narrowed. Was he serious? What could he possibly have to say that Deceit would actually want to hear? “What do you want from me?” It sounded less confident than he’d meant it to.

Roman stepped forward, leaning his shoulder against the door and the resting his hand on Deceit’s arm. He was attempting to look into Deceit’s eyes, but Deceit quickly realized Roman wasn’t focusing on him anymore. “We just want to get to know you a bit better!”

He looked the creative side up and down. He wasn’t lying, which was... interesting. 

Making up his mind, Deceit pushed him out and stepped out himself, pulling the door closed tightly behind him. He plastered a smile on his face - they weren’t going away unless he did this, so he might as well get it over with. 

“Why don’t we take a walk?”

~~~

Logan was visibly excited, something that Roman hadn’t seen in a while. He had a new subject to study, but Deceit clearly caught on as well and cut him off before he could speak. 

“Before you start in on however many insipid questions you have for me, understand that _I don’t trust you._ ”

Logan paused for a moment, adjusting his glasses with one hand. “Yes, I assumed as much. By all accounts I would be surprised if you did. Ideally, that is something we can remedy.”

“Why?” _Why put in so much effort for him?_

“Thomas wishes to understand your purpose. He is of the belief that you are no different than the rest of us, and I’ve taken it upon myself to affirm or deny that belief.”

Roman rolled his eyes. Leave it to Logan to put it in the most boring terms imaginable. Deceit snickered. 

“Well then, what are you waiting for?”

Logan needed no further prompting. He conjured his notebook again and summoned a pen from behind his ear. 

“You manage the lies that Thomas tells, correct?”

“What else do you know me for?”

“But that’s not all you control.”

Deceit didn’t verbally respond. 

“Am I correct in assuming that there’s much more to your job than controlling what lies Thomas tells and what we’re allowed to tell him?”

“Asking me yes or no questions isn’t very logical when you’re talking to a liar, Logan.” Deceit teased. 

“Answering a question with a question seems to be your go-to response. Is that your way of being honest with me?”

Deceit licked his lips, avoiding Logan’s curious gaze. 

“That leads me to believe that you want to answer my questions honestly and make sure we understand you a bit more, and telling us directly isn’t as effective due to your habitual lying.”

“You’ve just got me all figured out, don’t you? Dissected like a frog.”

“You’re free to leave at any time.” Roman interjected, not a huge fan of Deceit’s tone. The side glanced back, his slitted eye narrowed as he glared. Roman shrugged, though he did wish he had his sword with him for a moment. 

“Roman, please, we’re trying to be civil.” Logan chastised, turning back to Deceit. “I’ve always found your unique appearance... intriguing. And just recently, your logo you revealed to us. A two-headed snake... that would imply duality.”

At mention of his logo Deceit’s hand unconsciously hovered over his heart, where it sat. He’d worked hard on it, leave it to Logan to realize what he was intending for them to figure out about him. 

“Duality... but for what?” Was Logan... smiling? It made Roman’s stomach twist, though whether it was a good twist or a bad twist he couldn’t say. “Could it be that you’re not just Thomas’s ability to lie... but also his capacity to tell the truth?”

“But... that’s Patton’s job, isn’t it?!” Roman jumped in, and he didn’t miss how Deceit’s jaw set. 

“No, I don’t believe so. Deceit, your logo... it wouldn’t happen to have any relation to the classic two door puzzle, would it?”

The corner of Deceit’s mouth twitched upwards for a moment. “I have no idea what you’re talking about~”

“I thought as much.”

“Uh, Logan? You’ve lost me.”

Logan turned around and walked backwards to address Roman. “A logical puzzle, you are an adventurer who’s arrived at a crossroads. There are two paths, one leading to heaven and one leading to hell. There is a guard blocking your way, with two faces. One only tells lies, and one only tells the truth. You don’t know which face is which. The guard tells you you are allowed to ask a single question to guess the right door and get to heaven.” 

Roman blinked, trying to formulate an answer, which was not easy when he was being watched by two pairs of intense eyes. “I...”

“Come on Roman, aren’t you supposed to be the creative one?” Deceit purred, teasing him. Logan shook his head. 

“Don’t stress about it Roman. That’s the premise of the riddle, and that’s honestly more important than the answer right now. Deceit,” Logan turned back around, grabbing Deceit’s arm and halting their walk. The logical side studied Deceit’s face, silent for long enough that the others got a little uncomfortable. Deceit fidgeted under his intense scrutinization. 

“You may not have two different faces, but I’m inclined to believe that the scaled half of your face represents your capacity as a liar, and the... smooth side of your face your capacity to tell the truth.” Logan tried to avoid using the word normal, lest it make Deceit angry. 

Roman watched as Deceit’s face morphed from surprise to a smile that he clearly was trying to suppress. 

“You’re...” Deceit cleared his throat, brushing Logan’s hand off his arm. “You’re not incorrect.”

Logan smiled as well, a gentle but victorious smile. Then he pursed his lips. “If that’s the case... shouldn’t Patton be working with you? Thomas values telling the truth over... mostly everything, and that’s largely due to Patton. If you’re the one who allows him to do so...”

Deceit took a breath. “There are parts to us that come naturally, and there are parts to us that are more or less tacked on. The way Thomas views us largely affects the way we develop. He associates Patton with truth, with kindness. He’s the heart, his morality, the compass that points him in the right direction.” Deceit narrowed his eyes and stared off to the side. “Patton can’t steer him wrong. So where does that leave me?”

The silence hurt. Patton may be the heart, and therefore sensitive to emotions, but even Logan could hear the pure hurt in Deceit’s voice.

“Pushed to the side... and hidden from Thomas.” Roman muttered quietly. 

“I am Deceit. The liar, the manipulator, the one who leads him astray. It’s like you said, right Logan?”

Logan tilted his head.

“‘You place distance between who you are, and the lies that you tell.’ Thomas pushes me away because he sees me as a liar. You all know how that goes. Thomas is the boss. Whether he realizes it or not, he dictates what we are. What parts to focus on... and what to leave behind.”

The two light sides were uncomfortable, watching as Deceit’s fists curled and teeth clenched. 

“So... why haven’t you told any of us about this sooner?”

Deceit glared over at Roman, though the anger behind it wasn’t focused only on him. “I tried. But Patton has too strong of a hold. Thomas doesn’t truly listen to any of us except for him.”

“That’s not--”

“‘Lying is wrong! Lying to a friend is out of the question! And Roman, I thought you stood for honor! Why are you pushing for Thomas to be dishonest?’” Deceit’s impersonation of Patton’s disappointed voice startled Roman, and it was enough to put a smirk on Deceit’s face. 

“I know you’ve noticed it, Roman. You said it yourself. Every time you try and take Thomas down a path towards his dream, you get sent right back to the beginning by something ‘more important.’ Tell me, why did you make the decision you did that day?”

“I-- well, I, uh...”

“Deceit, this isn’t about that--”

Deceit glared at Logan, who wisely snapped his jaw shut with an audible click. Deceit turned back to Roman, who was twisting his hands together and lost for words. 

“I... it was... what was right for Thomas...”

“But it wasn’t what Thomas wanted. You heard him say it yourself. So why did you make him go to the wedding?” Deceit leaned in, and Roman leaned back, suddenly remembering exactly who they’ve been talking to. 

“I... it was...” _what Patton wanted._ The words floated unspoken between all of them, and Deceit stepped back, satisfied but not happy. 

“I don’t care about the final result.” _Lie._ “It doesn’t affect me at all.” _Lie._ “But I want you to realize from now on why exactly you make the decisions you do. Who you’re listening to, and who you’re dismissing.”

Logan took a deep breath, breaking the silence they’d been holding. “Well, that explains your... animosity towards each other. But, regarding Virgil... I still cannot see the reason behind his hatred of you.”

Deceit snorted. “Right, that. Do you recall Thomas’s middle school years?”

Logan raised an eyebrow. “Yes? That was when Thomas started developing as a person.”

“It’s also when Jack Skellington started becoming more than just Thomas’s fears.” Roman added, falling back on old habits and nicknames. Deceit raised an eyebrow. 

“It’s also when Thomas was constantly affirming to himself that he was _totally_ straight, there was _no way_ that he didn’t have those kinds of feelings for girls. They’ll come eventually.”

Roman made the connection before Logan did. “Thomas was so nervous during that time... It was hard for me to even do my job because Anxiety kept taking the spotlight.” He referred to Virgil by his title both because he hadn’t known any better at the time, and because it encompassed his point better than referring to him as Virgil. 

“Thomas was denying my input as well, he didn’t listen to reason because... of you.” Logan’s eyes met Deceit’s, the the latter side sighed. 

“Thomas didn’t want to believe that he was different, that he was _wrong._ I kept him safe, I kept him happy until he was ready and willing to accept the truth. But Anx-- _Virgil_ kept worrying. Kept wanting to get Thomas to admit it to himself, before he was ready. Because keeping secrets scares him. Because lying stresses him out. Because he wanted to just get it over with.”

“But you didn’t like it, did you?” Logan asked. 

“Do any of us like doing something that hurts Thomas? Hurting him means hurting us. And whether you believe it or not, I don’t like being hurt, and I don’t like hurting others.” He was gritting his teeth now, and hissing his s’s. 

“I believe you, Deceit.” Logan held his hand over his mouth, the very name of the side felt wrong now. “Is... should we call you something else?”

Deceit smirked. “Nice try, Logan. But it’s not going to be that easy.”

He shrugged. “Can’t blame me for trying. Anyways, so Virgil’s created a mental link between you, and the stress he was put under during Thomas’s developmental years?”

“Patton and I oppose each other. He is my antithesis. But Virgil knows me for the lies I tell, and he’s tied tightly to Patton. What upsets Patton, upsets poor Virgil.” Deceit pouted, mocking the anxious side. Roman felt his chest tighten protectively, but Deceit rolled his eyes. 

“Whatever. Are you satisfied with your study yet, Logan? Because I do actually have things to do.”

“For now, my curiosity is sated. However, if you ever find yourself in our neck of the woods... I wouldn’t mind if you dropped by for a chat.” Logan smiled ever so slightly. “You do make an interesting conversational partner.”

The human corner of his mouth twitched. “We’ll see what the future holds, won’t we?”

With that, he turned on his heel and disappeared, popping back into the shadowy side of the mindscape and away from the common room that they’d only been a few steps away from. 

Logan and Roman went to sit down, both trying to sort through the entire conversation they’d just had. 

“I didn’t think Deceit was capable of telling the truth so... candidly.” Roman admitted after a long silence. 

“It didn’t seem to pain him at all either, like it would for us to go against our given traits.”

Roman glanced up, watching Logan look over his notes. “You saw through him an in instant, once you actually got to talk to him.”

Logan smirked. “Lies are much easier to parse through when you have cold hard facts that can guide you to the truth.”

Roman hummed, it made sense to a point. 

“It does strike me as odd, though.”

“What does?”

Logan looked up. “When we were coming to understand Virgil, Patton was the one leading the pack. He saw something within Virgil that the rest of us missed the first time around. It does strike me as strange that he refused to offer Deceit the same courtesy.”

Roman laughed at that. “That’s cause you’re looking at it wrong, calculator. Like Deceit said, he represents everything Patton is against. Even padre has his limits in what he’ll accept.”

“So... does that mean this time, we’ll be leading?”

The prince shrugged. “I guess so, Logan. How do you feel about that?”

“I don’t feel anything.”

Roman chuckled, and muttered under his breath.

“Of course you don’t.”

**Author's Note:**

> Comment and subscribe!  
> You can talk to me on tumblr! @dragonsaphirareads


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